Renaudot controversy

Unsurprisingly, there has been some controversy over the Renaudot surprise (Daniel Pennac’s Chagrin d’école was awarded the prize despite being left off the short list).

Christophe Donner, who very nearly won the prize, has accused one of the jurors of manipulating the jury’s deliberations, and, as a protest(?) is withdrawing his book from other competitions, which is a problem, as he’s expected to be awarded the prix Medicís on Monday.

Here’s how Donner lost, according to TV5:

Au 10e tour, le livre de Daniel Pennac et celui de Christophe Donner, “Un jour sans lendemain” (Grasset), se sont retrouvés à égalité. La voix du président (Patrick Besson) comptant double, Pennac l’a finalement emporté par 6 voix contre 5.

I’ll try to sum up, but my French isn’t so good: After 10 rounds, the voting was tied between Pennac and Donner. In this case, the president’s vote counts double, and since the president voted for Pennac, Pennac was awarded the prize.

What’s a prize season without some controversy?